Prom
by L James
Summary: She could only ignore him for so long. M to be safe.
1. Part I

_This is my favorite movie, and I decided to write something that no one has touched on yet—Shermer High's senior prom. Unfortunately, it only focuses on my favorite pairing. Can you guess?_

_Please be kind and review J This will be in two parts._

_By the way, I thought of the idea for this when I was watching the movie the other night and I caught one of Bender's one liners:_

**"_Sweet…you couldn't ignore me if you tried."_**

* * *

Her situation hadn't improved. Daddy still used her, and Mommy still abused her. Claire's drunken shadow of a mother had almost taken over her life. She'd lost count of how many times she stayed home Saturday night, making sure her mother didn't crack her head open on the bathroom floor. Of course, she knew her friends would remain oblivious to the whole thing; they were too concerned with themselves, their boyfriends and their god-damn prom.

Claire brought her palms to her eyes at this thought. Sitting with her head in her hands, she wondered how exactly her life had come to this.

Charlie Lenahan had approached her two weeks ago last Tuesday. She remembered having her head in her locker when a large hand came to rest on her shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat…_strong hands…_and in her surprise she conveniently hit her head against her coat hook. Vision blurry, she vaguely remembered being asked to the prom, and said yes offhandedly, not even realizing who it was. Charlie Lenahan, fortunately, was a soccer player whose reputation as a stud was well known. Unfortunately, Claire had no interest in him.

Her dress was pink. Most people would say it was appropriate for Claire, but if she chose she would have gone with deep red. "That red clashes horribly with your hair," her mother had said when she put it on. It was one of her few sober moments. "The pink makes you look so special, Claire. Like a _princess."_

It wasn't until she was back in the car with the puffy package in her lap that she even realized what happened. She vaguely remembered being asked "Claire, honey, are you okay?", and her lack of response must have answered her mother's question quite clearly. The car ride was silent the rest of the way home.

* * *

_One more night,_ she thought to herself as she put on her makeup. It was like putting on a whole new face, really—a face that had become more of a stranger to her in the last few months than ever before. It was May, and graduation would soon be approaching. Her day of liberation. It was the day when she could throw away her life at Shermer High—a reputation of perfection she fought so hard to preserve. It was funny now, thinking back on her high school years. The things that were important to her freshman year were long ago tossed aside for new worries and concerns. In a few short weeks, she would be finally be rid of her own self-inflicted stereotype.

Hair fixed, dress zipped, and makeup on, she felt better than she had in years. The prom last year was a dismal affair; her boyfriend Taylor had just broken up with her, and she had no date. Luckily, her good friend Alyssa found her an escort in no time—a college baseball player, Brian something. He was kind to her, which was especially nice, considering the circumstances of her breakup. However, she couldn't help thinking that Taylor would have been there if she had just done it.

Although Claire's mood was still a dark one, feeling pretty can work wonders. The dress was way too puffy for her tastes, but her eyes sparkled right along with the diamonds on her neckline. _It's good enough,_ she thought. _It'll get me through._

* * *

Charlie brought her a corsage of white roses. He complemented her dress, flirted with her mother, and posed flawlessly for her father's photos. Her high heels clicked along the driveway as she scurried to the Porsche in the rain. Of course, with her luck, her perfectly curled hair would be a mess in moments. She was trying to salvage her makeup as they pulled into the parking lot of Shermer High.

He parked the car and ran around it to open her door. Charlie crouched low with his suitcoat over his head, yelling over the rain."Sorry, princess, but I can't park any closer than this! We're going to have to make a run for it!"

She didn't look in his eyes, but took his hand. "Please don't call me that."

* * *

They had almost made it, until a sharp pain in her ankle and cold cement met the bottom of her right foot. "I lost my shoe!"

The pouring rain obscured her vision. Her clear shoe would barely be visible in this strong of a downpour. But for some reason, she needed that shoe. "Go on, I'll meet you in a minute."

Claire laughed a bit to herself as he nodded and darted for the door. Of course Charlie wasn't a gentleman, but she already knew that. Turning around, she limped down the steps carefully until she reached the lowest one. Nowhere in sight.

Here she was, clad in her prom dress, soaked to the bone by a passing spring shower. And all she could think about was finding her shoe. It wasn't even that expensive, but somehow the thought of it being lost was bothering her more than she was willing to admit. Twisting the single diamond in her ear, she looked for a few more moments until she saw it, lying on its side to the right of the steps.

She hurried over and wedged it on. Her first step, though, was met with a searing pain through her leg, causing her to wince. She took a few more steps, then rounded a corner to take the back stairway into the gymnasium.

There, soaked through his several layers of clothing, drenched cigarette in hand, stood John Bender.

* * *

Conclusion will be up soon :) 


	2. Part II

The M rating is earned here with some language. I decided to do a pure dialogue piece because you can interpret the phrasing as you like.

A few lines of this were inspired by Train's _Meet Virginia._

_(By the way, I don't own anything!)_

_**And here it is…**_

* * *

****

"You've been out here a long time."

"Don't be thinking what I know you're thinking. You're not that damn important."

"Why else would you be here?"

Pause. "Maybe I needed to get out of the house." _Flick._

"Can I have one?"

"Didn't know the prom queen smoked."

"Maybe I don't want to be the queen." _Flick._

"You will be anyway."

_Silence._

"You're such a bastard."

"And you're a bitch."

_Pause._

"How the hell did this happen?"

"God invented stereotypes just to fuck us all over."

"Really…I thought it was just to separate the good from the bad."

"You're no more good than I am bad, Cherry."

"Are you graduating?"

"What do you think?"

_Pause._ "No."

"Fuck you."

"Well you're not, are you?"

_Silence._

"I'm going to school in New York."

"Who did Daddy have to pay off for _that_ to happen?"

"For your information, I got a _full scholarship_ to St. John's University!"

"For what, being the biggest ignorant bitch in Illinois?"

"You know, you're really one to talk. At least I won't be stuck here working in a god damn _gas station_ for the rest of my life!"

"Yeah, you'll be out on the east coast screwing your _fat, millionaire husband _who mommy and daddy set you up with because he was a _frequent investor_!_"_

_Silence._

_Sniff. _"Why did you ignore me?"

"Why did you ignore _me_?"

"You know what people would have said."

"Fuck them, Claire! God, what the hell are you going to do someday when you really want something that everyone says you can't have?"

"I _did_ really want—"

"Not enough."

_Pause._

"I couldn't ignore you."

_Smirk._ "You couldn't have even if you tried."

"Doesn't _that_ sound familiar."

"I certainly have that effect on women."

"Don't flatter yourself. Most of the time I wanted to cut your balls off, not fuck you into oblivion."

"Harsh."

"I don't want to be like this anymore."

"Did you ever?"

"Once. When I had no family and I needed friends."

"You still have no family."

"I learned my lesson. Selling myself out isn't worth it."

_Silence._

"So did you?"

"What?"

"Sell yourself."

"Excuse me?"

"You know what I mean, Claire."

"I really don't think that this is any of your—"

"_Not this shit again_!"

"You think you know me! But you have _no idea. _Just because we had one little tryst in the closet on a Saturday afternoon doesn't mean you know _jack shit!"_

"So, what? An old boyfriend push you a bit too far? Hell, maybe even Daddy pushed you around—"

"Don't you _ever_ say that about my father! _Ever!"_

"Sorry, but I had to assume the worst. I mean, if you're this fucked up—"

"It was my ex, alright?"

_Pause._

"And?"

"And…he broke it off."

"Because…"

"I wouldn't—"

"Oh."

_Silence._

"Poor Charlie."

"What?"

"With those words I'm sure you dashed his plans of a _pleasurable_ evening."

"Oh, fuck off!"

_Pause._

"You know… you don't have to go back in there."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"You look like shit, anyway."

"I'm aware."

_Pause. _

"I can see your face, though."

The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but a thick fog still hung low around their ankles. It was cold, and she shivered even more when he reached out to touch her cheek. He was smearing her mascara, she knew, but it had already bled down her face. She looked up with bloodshot eyes and saw the matching diamond in his ear.

And for the first time in a long time, Claire smiled.

* * *

Finished! Sometimes these blurbs take on a life of their own. I didn't plan this ending, but I hope you liked it :)

Please be kind-- read and review!


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